Decentlab sensors deployed across 500,000 acres of US rangeland
/A new study in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture presents an end-to-end IoT and remote sensing platform for extensive livestock management — with Decentlab sensors as part of the infrastructure.
While precision agriculture is well established in crop farming, it has struggled on vast, remote rangelands due to limited connectivity, no grid power, and large, heterogeneous data streams. The platform addresses this by collecting animal, water, and weather data over LoRaWAN and turning it into actionable insights for grazing management.
It was deployed across 12 ranches in four US states and more than 500,000 acres of arid rangeland, with 931 cattle tracking collars, 19 water-level sensors, 7 rain gauges, and 27 LoRaWAN gateways.
Where Decentlab fits in
The platform uses Decentlab sensors for water and precipitation monitoring, each reporting every 10 minutes:
Ultrasonic Distance / Level Sensor (DL-MBX) — water level in open tanks and troughs
Pressure / Liquid Level and Temperature Sensor (DL-PR26) — water level in closed tanks
Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge (DL-TBRG) — localized precipitation data
To date, the platform has processed 130.4 million collar data packets, 2.9 million water-level measurements, and 810,000 rain gauge readings.
What the study found
This is the first fully validated end-to-end system of its kind in operational use — not a pilot, but a deployment across all twelve ranches. The authors credit it with the potential to improve efficiency, reduce labor and costs, and support animal welfare.
Read the study
